Archives for March 2013

Drying After Showering: No Towel Needed

What if I told you there was product that would prevent you from that awful moment you encounter every time you step out of the shower into the cold air. Would you be interested? What if I told you this product would save you from doing loads and loads of towels each month? Sounding even better?

I thought so.

Introducing, my latest internet discovery, the Tornado Body Dryer. This is one of times where you say “where has this been all my life?!”212_Bronze_in_Custom_Shower_2

The tornado body dryer can dry your entire body without a towel while you are still in your warm shower enclosure. This is air drying to the extreme!

Finished showering?  Stay in your Warm Shower — but Don’t Reach for a Towel!

Let our full body dryer wrap you in a blanket of luxurious swirling warm air that gently, even soothingly, dries your total body [in-shower] head to toes.

This may seem like a wacky invention but I see this as a really cool addition to anyone’s bathroom. I can’t tell you how many times I have almost slipped on our wet bathroom floor and I know I am not the only one who hates those couple of seconds of body shock going from the warm weather to the cold air.

The Former Home of Music and Movie Royalty

Outside1What do Paul McCartney, Betty Grable and the Lion from the original Wizard of Oz have in common? They all at one time or another called the gated and private estate at 9555 Heather Rd. in Beverly Hills home! This $25,580,000 property is truly one of America’s most historic, celebrated and beautiful homes.

Bedroom

With a who’s who list of Hollywood royalty having called this home since it was built in 1941, this estate obviously offers the upmost in privacy and peaceful seclusion; away from the hustle and bustle of Tinsletown. The recently remodeled property nestled in Beverly Hills emits that but laid back ambiance one would get from top of the line Hampton/Connecticut residences. What results is a truly luxurious property but with an accessibility that makes it really “livable”.

Living-Room

Sure the high vaulted ceilings, 2 master suites in the main house, staff quarters and powder and media rooms are all as jaw dropping as you’d expect from such a prized property. But what would really attract my attention if I were in the market for a $20+ million home such as this would be the entertaining you’d be able to do; because sharing your home with loved ones is one of the coolest parts of being a homeowner!The home offers a pool, a top of the line outdoor kitchen, terraces and patios, a pool hall, bowling alley and a professional tennis court for you to practice that Serena Williams-esque serve. Throw in year round perfect weather and you’ve got a winner.

Tennis

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Bowling

Squeaky Floor: Here’s A Great Fix

squeakyfloor_featSqueaky floors are great if you want to catch a snoop in your house, but they’re terrible for pretty much every other reason. Thankfully, there is a quick fix for insufferable floorboard sounds—in fact, there are a few solutions. The DIY experts at Stack Exchange are here to help.

I have a home built in the 1940’s. The main floor creaks a lot and more squeaking and creaks seem to spring up in new places all the time. Is there an easy way to stop the squeaking and creaking? I don’t necessarily need to prevent future annoyances, but I would like to stop the loudest creaking now.

shirlock homes Answers:

The main cause of wood floors squeaking is wood shrinkage around the nails. If you can localize the areas that are the worst, a common way to minimize squeaks is to drive screws up from the bottom through the subfloor into the hardwood. Be absolutely sure to use screws that will are long enough to grab the hardwood, but short enough not to stick through.

If you do not have hardwood floors then you’ll have to decide among a few different techniques appropriate for specific floor coverings, ie. carpet, tile, vinyl, etc. With carpet, for instance, there are special breakaway screws (such as these made by McFeely’s) that can be installed from above. With tile or vinyl, the screw from under method is often the way to go.

Read the entire article: http://lifehacker.com/5991987/whats-the-best-way-to-fix-a-squeaky-floor

3 Financial Reasons to Buy a Home NOW! (Part III)

This week, we are going to look at the three financial reasons to buy a home now instead of waiting: prices are rising, interest rates are increasing and rents are skyrocketing. – The KCM Crew

Part III – Rents Are SkyrocketingRent-Growth

Whether you own or rent, you will have a monthly housing expense. The question is how that expense will change in the future. When you purchase a home, for the most part, you lock-in that monthly housing expense for the length of the mortgage you take (15 or 30 years for example). When you rent a home, your housing expense is impacted by movements in the supply and demand for rental properties.

Historically, residential rental rates increase by 3.2% on an annual basis. However, in the current housing environment, there is an increasing demand for residential rental properties. This increase in demand has dramatically impacted rates. Zillow, in their most recent report, revealed that rental rates in the U.S. increased by 4.5% over the last twelve months. Other studies have projected rental rate increases of 4-5% over the next few years.

The only way to have control of your housing expense is to buy.

But Isn’t Buying Much More Expensive Than Renting?

Not right now! As a matter of fact, with prices down and mortgage rates at historic lows, it is LESS EXPENSIVE to buy than rent in most areas. In a recent reportTruliarevealed it is cheaper to buy than rent in ALL of America’s largest regions.

According to Jed Kolko, Trulia’s Chief Economist:

“People who didn’t buy a home last year may have missed the bottom of the market, but they haven’t completely missed the boat. Buying remains cheaper than renting in all 100 large metros. Even buyers who can’t get today’s lowest mortgage rates will still find that buying makes more financial sense than renting in nearly all local markets.”

However, Kolko went on to say that this opportunity may soon disappear:

“Although buying a home is still cheaper than renting, the gap is closing. In 2013, home prices should rise faster than rents, and mortgage rates are likely to rise in the next year as the economy improves. By next year, buying could be more expensive than renting in some housing markets, even for people with the best credit.”

Again, the only way to lock-in your monthly housing expense is to take that decision out of the hands of a landlord by owning. With both prices and interest rates set to increase, the best time to buy is right now.

by THE KCM CREW

17 Bizarre Real Estate Listing Photos

The search for a home can be quite an adventure. On the hunt for a house or condo with the proper amenities, you never know what you may come across. By digging through thousands of real estate listings each week it’s amazing some of the things we stumble upon. Here are 17 photographs from real listings on Estately that instantly surprised us.

1. Atlanta, Georgia — $525,000. View photos of the rest of the home here.

There are better ways to cover up a carpet stain than this.

baffle1

2. Atlanta, Georgia — $3,400,000. View photos of the rest of the home here.

Some say the zebra was pushed.


zebrasplat

3. Chatsworth, California — $869,000. View photos of the rest of the home here.

If you’re a rock thrower who longs to live in a glass house so you can see the sky, consider painting the ceiling to resemble clouds at sunset instead.

sky

4. Austin, Texas –$1,695,000. View the rest of this home here.

Do you dare to enter The Fortress of Slumber?

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5. The Plains, Virginia–$5,999,000. View photos of this equestrian estate here.

First they show up in fast food and IKEA meatballs, then they appear in real estate listing photos. Horses just seem to be popping up everywhere.

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6. Chino Hills, California — Sold for $4,500,000. View what remains of the listing here.

Listed for $4.9 million, this Chino Hills home wasn’t yet completed, but an awesome replica was created for the listing photos. For children skilled in building LEGO mansions, there could a be a future career in constructing miniature home replicas.

baffle4

7. Vancouver, Washington — Sold for $230,000. View the old listing here.

The listing for this home was literally crawling with babies. From inside the sink to the hallways, this Vancouver, Washington house featured the same crawling baby in at least eight of its photos. The photogenic tyke caught the attention of sites like Hooked on Houses — and eventually a new owner — because the home sold within months.

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8. Little Neck, New York –$799,000.View photos of the rest of the home here.

No need to wake up. Just pull the sleeping bag over your head so we can snap a quick photo. Perfect.

Copyright (C), Multiple Listing Service of Long Island, Inc, 2004

9. Studio City, California–$1,325,000. View photos of the rest of the home here.

Previously owned by comedian Dennis Miller, this combination sauna/bathroom features a toilet that can be easily hidden by the drop-down sauna seat. This combo raises also sorts of questions and concerns.

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10. Fort Lauderdale, Florida — $3,150,000. View photos of the rest of the home here.

Human evolution eventually lead to indoor plumbing, but some still long for the simpler times when business was taken care of in the forest.

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11. Vernon, Vermont — $250,000. View photos of this carpet store in a home here.

This lovely home comes with a large master bedroom, two baths, and a carpet store inside. So even think you’re going to put hardwood floors in because that would be silly.

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12. San Pedro, California — $410,000. View photos of the rest of the home here.

The reaction was mixed for this Louis Vuitton-themed paint job, but the condo sold quickly and the listing was featured in everything from Curbed Los Angeles to StyleBistro.

louis
13. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — $1,850,000. View photos of the rest of the home here.

Dogs routinely appear in listing photos (more proof), but they’re not usually captured during such private moments.

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14. Mars, As In The Red Planet–$30,000. View photos of the rest of the home here.

Ok, we made this one up as a marketing ploy.

martian_home

15. North Hills, California–$2,600,000. View photos of the rest of the home here.

Some have speculated this was taken by the backup camera from a Toyota Prius. If successful, this could prove to be an incredible time saver for real estate photographers.

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16. Chicago, Illinois — $289,000. View photos of the rest of the home here.

A lack of ceiling or walls is still no excuse not to stage a room for a listing photo.

nowalls
17. McLean, Virginia–$2,899,000. View the rest of the home here.

Jules Verne crash lands in Camelot?

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3 Financial Reasons to Buy a Home NOW! (Part II)

This week, we are going to look at the three financial reasons to buy a home now instead of waiting: prices are rising at an accelerated rate, interest rates are increasing and rents are skyrocketing. – The KCM Crew

Part II – Interest Rates Are Increasing

rates diceA big component in the cost of a home is the mortgage interest rate a purchaser pays. Understanding where rates are headed will help in making a decision whether to buy now or wait.

So, Where Are Rates Headed?

No one can know for sure. The Fed has been artificially holding rates down to stimulate the economy. However, as the economy improves, many experts expect rates to creep up. As an example, HSH Associates, the nation’s largest publisher of mortgage and consumer loan information, recently explained:

“The stronger the economy becomes, the higher rates may grind; the Federal Reserve is keeping them low to goose the economy, but an economy responding to the Fed’s medicine will soon see less of a need for it in order to function. If not otherwise manipulated, higher rates are the natural result of a growing economy, as rising demand for available credit supply and concerns about inflation allow costs to rise.”

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) agrees. They were quoted in HousingWire late last year regarding their thoughts on where rates would be headed in 2013.

“After reaching record lows in 2012, mortgage rates are expected to creep up slowly in 2013, the Mortgage Bankers Association predicted.”

In the MBA’s latest Mortgage Finance Forecast they forecast that the 30 year interest rate will be 4.3% by the end of the year. This represents an increase of almost a full percentage point from the 3.4% rate available at the end of 2012.

Mortgage-PaymentsFor example, we show the impact a one percent increase in rate will have on the monthly principal and interest payment on a $200,000 mortgage.

Freddie Mac’s Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey reveals that rates have increased by 2/10ths of a percentage point already this year.

As we mentioned, no one knows for sure where rates will be a year from now. But, many experts think they may be as much as a point higher. With rising residential real estate prices and the possibility of higher mortgage rates, waiting to buy a home makes no sense in our opinion.

Tomorrow, we will look at skyrocketing rents.

by THE KCM CREW

Washington Unemployment By County

King & Snohomish are well under 7%!Washington unemploymentSource: WASHINGTON STATE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY DEPARTMENT

 

Kitchen Design – What you need to Know

A helpful insight why Kitchen is the top most priority while re-modelling a home, briefing about the design elements that should be considered before hiring a designer.  50% of home buyers say the kitchen had the most significant impact on their purchasing decision!

Checkout an infographic on Kitchen Design by Primera Interiors.

kitchen-design--what-you-need-to-know

Household Energy Use [infographic]

household-energy-use-in-the-usasource: greenbusinesswatch.org